foods
Article
Study on Drying Control Strategy of White Radish Slice Based
on Monitoring Medium Relative Humidity
Dalong Jiang 1,2 , Congcong Li 2,3, * and Zhian Zheng 1, *
Citation: Jiang, D.; Li, C.; Zheng, Z.
Study on Drying Control Strategy of
White Radish Slice Based on
Monitoring Medium Relative
Humidity. Foods 2022, 11, 1197.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
foods11091197
Academic Editor: Joao Laurindo
Received: 6 April 2022
Accepted: 18 April 2022
Published: 20 April 2022
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4.0/).
Foods 2022, 11, 1197. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11091197
1 College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; bs20193070625@cau.edu.cn
2 Department of Electronics, College of Information Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University,
Baoding 071001, China
3 Hebei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Big Data, Baoding 071001, China
* Correspondence: hebaulcc@126.com (C.L.); zhengza@cau.edu.cn (Z.Z.)
Abstract: Enhancing the drying rate and dried products quality, as well as energy efficiency, is very
tempting for the drying industry. Recently, a lot of investigations have illustrated that the drying
temperature, air velocity, and sample thickness have significant influences on the drying process.
However, few investigations took into account the relative humidity (RH) as an important hot-air-
drying parameter in the drying process. Therefore, in the current work, white radish slabs were
used to explore the drying characteristics and quality under the drying condition of a constant RH,
decreasing the RH step by step and decreasing RH automatically, together with a constant air velocity
of 1 m·s−1 and a drying temperature of 60 ◦ C. Compared to continuous dehumidification, the step-
down RH process was conducive to the material center temperature rise in the early stage of drying.
When the material central temperature was increased and then the RH was reduced, the drying rate
was increased and the overall drying time was shortened. The automatic-down RH control drying
process includes three dehumidification processes. The respective RH control values were 40%,
30%, and 20% and the respective durations were 180 min, 90 min, and 60 min. The comprehensive
quality evaluation showed that the comprehensive score of the automatic-down RH control process
at 60 ◦ C was the highest, which was 0.85. The L* and b* values of the automatic-down RH control
were 26.0 and 1.67, respectively, which were better than those of the step-down RH, constant 20%
RH, and constant 40% RH. The maximum rehydration ratio was 3.96 under the automatic-down RH
control condition, and the quality was good. The lowest energy consumption under the condition
of the automatic-down RH control was 0.90 kW·h·kg−1 . The present work contributes to a better
understanding of the effect of the RH on the drying characteristics and quality of white radish slices,
which is useful for enhancing the drying rate and dried products’ quality as well as energy efficiency.
Keywords: white radish; relative humidity control; color; hot air drying; energy
1. Introduction
In the past 20 years, the production of fruits and vegetables in China has developed
rapidly, and the planting area and output are in the forefront of the world. However,
most of fruits and vegetables have high water contents of 75%–95%, which are prone
to corruption and deterioration, resulting in irreparable economic losses [1,2]. Among
them, white radish (Raphanus sativus L.), also known as radish and cauliflower, belongs to
cruciferous radish [3,4]. In 2017, the cultivation area exceeded 1.3 million hectares, with a
total output of 45 million tons, becoming the second largest vegetable crop after Chinese
cabbage in China [5]. Dried radish is popular among consumers due to its high edible value
(rich polysaccharide content) and crisp taste. However, the moisture content of fresh radish
is too high (up to more than 90%), which is particularly prone to browning, mildew and
other problems. Natural drying time is long and is easily limited by climatic conditions.
Drying as one of the ancient food preservation methods can inhibit microbial repro-
duction and enzyme activity by reducing the moisture content of materials, thus reducing
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/foods
Foods 2022, 11, 1197 2 of 15

the deterioration of physical and chemical properties during storage, so as to prolong the
shelf life and maintain the quality of products [6].
Among many drying technologies (vacuum drying, hot air drying, microwave drying,
infrared drying, and radio frequency drying), hot air drying is widely used because of its
simple structure and large batch processing capacity [7]. However, in the hot-air-drying
technology, the hot air is both a heat carrier and a wet carrier. The heat required for the
temperature rising and the water evaporation of the dried materials is provided by hot air,
and the evaporated water is also taken away by hot air, which easily leads to a low energy
utilization rate and a long drying time [8]. A large number of experiments showed that the
drying temperature, wind speed, and chip thickness have significant effects on the drying
rate (DR), whereas there was little research on the effect of the drying medium relative
humidity (RH) on the DR and there was no unified conclusion [9–12].
Table 1 summarizes the research on the effects of RH on the hot air drying of different
materials in recent years. In general, higher RH can accelerate the increase of the material
center temperature, thus accelerating the movement of water molecules in the material [13].
Using high-RH air to preheat the fresh sample can make the temperature and moisture
content of the center and the surface close to each other and then reduced the humidity of
the medium, so that the temperature gradient from the center to the surface of the fresh
sample is consistent with the humidity gradient, which is conducive to the acceleration
of the drying and the reduction of the crusting phenomenon. Nevertheless, there was no
real-time measurement and analysis of the change law of the RH and material temperature
of the drying medium. The keeping time of high RH and the time of moisture removal are
determined by experience or a lot of experiments, and the influence of the medium RH
change on the material state was not revealed. Moreover, the change of the medium RH
in the drying process is closely related to the material state. Therefore, it is necessary to
propose an adaptive drying strategy based on monitoring the RH of the medium.

Table 1. Research status of the relative humidity (RH) in hot air drying.

Materials Main Conclusion Author

Appropriate relative humidity could improve the color, shape, and rehydration rate of
Pods Jia et al. [14]
dried pods.
The high-temperature and high-RH drying technology could improve the drying rate
Rice and fish noodles Liu et al. [15]
and the quality.
Suitable drying conditions of high temperature and high RH could improve the
Rice Zhao et al. [16]
moisture effective diffusion coefficient and reduce the drying energy consumption.
Staged variable temperature and humidity drying process could effectively reduce the
Cherry tomatoes Wang et al. [17]
loss of nutrients and color changes of cherry tomatoes and shorten the drying time.
The step-down relative humidity strategy contributed to the formation of a porous
Panax notoginseng roots Jiang et al. [18]
structure, enhancement of drying efficiency, and quality improvement.
Shiitake mushrooms The high RH had a negative effect on the flavor components of shiitake mushrooms. Li et al. [19]
The color difference, Vitamin C content, and sensory scores of dried products were
Hawthorn better under the conditions of a constant RH of 30% and phase humidification (RH of Liu et al. [20]
50% at the constant rate period and RH of 30% at the falling rate period).
Taking the rehydration ratio, color value, drying time, and energy consumption into
Carrot slabs account, conditions of 50% RH kept for 30 min and then RH reduced to 20% were Ju et al. [21]
proposed as the favorable condition for drying carrot slabs.
The step-down RH could accelerate the drying rate to prevent surface casehardening
Carrot in the porous agriculture products of which surfaces were easily Ju et al. [22]
crusted during drying.
The quality of dried carrot was related to the high humidity maintenance interval and
Carrot the drying time. In order to improve the quality of dried carrot, a longer Zhou et al. [23]
humidification time and a lower humidity of moisture should be selected.
Foods 2022, 11, 1197 3 of 15

To sum up, this paper put forward an automatic adjustment control strategy of the
medium RH in the drying process and analyzed the effects of different constant RH,
step-down RH, and automatic dehumidification conditions on the drying characteristics,
product color, rehydration rate, energy consumption, and polysaccharide content of white
radish. This study provides a theoretical basis for realizing the intelligent industrial drying
of white radish.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Materials
White radish (Raphanus sativus L.) was used as a raw material and purchased from local
farmers’ market in Beijing. Fruits with a uniform size (the average diameter was 6 ± 1 cm,
and the length was 23 ± 1 cm) and without visual damage were selected, washed and cut in
slices. The initial moisture content on a wet basis was 94.5% ± 0.8% (drying method [24,25];
temperature: 105 ◦ C; period: 24 h). Triplicate measurements were conducted. The white
radish was cut into round slices with a diameter of 6 ± 0.2 mm, and the batch weight was
about 5 kg. Before the experiment, they were stored in a refrigerator at 4 ± 1 ◦ C.

2.2. Main Experiment Equipment and Procedure

A multi-layer box-type hot air dryer installed in the College of Engineering of China
Agricultural University, Beijing, China was used in the present study. A schematic diagram
of the hot-air-drying equipment is shown in Figure 1. The drying equipment mainly
consisted of a hot air circulation motor, a drying chamber, a gas-collecting chamber, a
material rack, an electric heating pipe, a dehumidification fan, an insulation layer, and
an automatic control system. In the vertical direction, there were three drying layers of
the same size. A proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller (Omron, model E5CN,
Tokyo, Japan) with an accuracy of ±0.1 ◦ C was used to control the air temperature in the
drying chamber. The hot air circulation motor drove the wind blades to rotate to drive
the airflow. The airflow entered the heating chamber after contacting with the materials
through the gas-collecting chamber and then was reheated by the electric heating pipe, and
finally, the hot air circulation was realized through a return air channel. A dehumidification
fan was connected with a trumpet-shaped air inlet through a dehumidification duct to
realize the moisture removal in the drying process.
The automatic dehumidification control program was divided into three stages ac-
cording to the RH change of the drying medium at the air inlet of the drying chamber
obtained from the pre-experiments: early drying, middle drying, and late drying. The
specific control flow was shown in Figure 2.
Other experiment instruments and equipment include the following devices:
an EU-2600A UV-visible spectrophotometer (Shanghai Rangqi Instrument Technology
Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China); a DHG-9140A electric constant temperature blast drying oven
(Shanghai Yiheng Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China); an SMY-2000SF colorimeter
(Beijing Shengmingyang Technology Development Co., Ltd., Beijing, China); an electronic
constant-temperature stainless steel water bath pot (Shanghai Yichang instrument yarn
screen factory, Shanghai, China); a machine vision system (industrial camera BASLER
ACA2500-14GC; a CMOS photosensitive chip); an electronic balance (Ohaus International
Trade Shanghai Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China, 0.001 g); an electronic balance (Shanghai Co.,
Ltd., Shanghai, China, 0.001 g); DTS7178 three-phase four-wire electronic watt-hour meter
(Shanghai Minrong Electric Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China); several dryers.
Foods 2022, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 16

Foods 2022, 11, 1197 4 of 15

(A) (B)

(C)
Figure 1. Schematic
Figure diagram
1. Schematic of the overall
diagram structure
of the overall of a multi-layer
structure box-type
of a multi-layer hot air
box-type hotdryer based
air dryer based on
on temperature and humidity control: (A) main view of dryer; (B) left view of the dryer; (C) physical
temperature and humidity control: (A) main view of dryer; (B) left view of the dryer; (C) physical
drawing of the dryer. 1. control system; 2. insulation layer; 3. air inlet duct; 4. dehumidification fan;
drawing of the dryer. 1. control system; 2. insulation layer; 3. air inlet duct; 4. dehumidification
5. bell mouth; 6. door hinge; 7. humidification port; 8. air inlet port; 9. manual ball valve; 10. dehu-
fan; 5. bell mouth; 6. door hinge; 7. humidification port; 8. air inlet port; 9. manual ball valve;
midification devices; 11. thrusting needle PT100 temperature sensor; 12. tray; 13. carbon-crystal in-
10. dehumidification
frared heating devices;
plate; 14. surface mount11. thrusting
PT100 needle sensor;
temperature PT100 temperature sensor;
15. material rack; 16.12. tray;tem-
SHT35 13. carbon-
perature and humidity sensor; 17. probe-type PT100 temperature sensor; 18. drying chamber; 19.rack; 16.
crystal infrared heating plate; 14. surface mount PT100 temperature sensor; 15. material
SHT35
return air duct;temperature and
20. centrifugal humidity
blower; sensor; 17.
21. drainage pipe;probe-type
22. heatingPT100 temperature
chamber; sensor;
23. axial flow fan;18.
24. drying
door handle; 25. W-shaped finned heating tube; 26. drying chamber door; 27. ultrasonic humidifier.
chamber; 19. return air duct; 20. centrifugal blower; 21. drainage pipe; 22. heating chamber; 23. axial
flow fan; 24. door handle; 25. W-shaped finned heating tube; 26. drying chamber door; 27. ultrasonic
The automatic dehumidification control program was divided into three stages ac-
humidifier.
cording to the RH change of the drying medium at the air inlet of the drying chamber
obtained2.3.from
Experiment Method
the pre-experiments: early drying, middle drying, and late drying. The spe-
cific controlTheflowmulti-layer
was shown box-type hot2.air dryer was turned on to preheat to the set temperature
in Figure
and RH.
Other The sliced
experiment radish slices
instruments andwere evenlyinclude
equipment spread the
in seven (500 × 300 mm), and
traysdevices:
following
the loading capacity of each tray was about 800 ± 50 g. Three
an EU-2600A UV-visible spectrophotometer (Shanghai Rangqi Instrument white radish slices were
Technol-
randomly taken from a material tray, and the temperature sensor PT100
ogy Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China); a DHG-9140A electric constant temperature blast drying (Beijing Youpusi
science and Technology Center, Beijing, China) was inserted into the center of the white
radish slices. The rest of the trays were used to measure the weight change regularly.
 Foods 2022, 11, 1197 5 of 15

OR PEER REVIEW 5 of 16
During the process, the energy consumption in the drying process was monitored by the
watt-hour meter in real time. Considering the loss of hot air in the weighing process, which
oven (Shanghai Yiheng interfered
Technologywith
Co.,the monitoring
Ltd., Shanghai, ofChina);
the temperature of the material
an SMY-2000SF colorim-center and the humidity
eter (Beijing Shengmingyang Technology Development Co., Ltd., Beijing, China); anatelec-
of the drying medium, a heat insulation board was added the entrance of the drying
chamber, and the process from taking it out to putting
tronic constant-temperature stainless steel water bath pot (Shanghai Yichang instrument it in of the tray only took 20 s.
yarn screen factory, Shanghai, China); a machine vision system (industrial camerawhite radish was better
Previous studies [14,15] have shown that the drying quality of
when the drying temperature was ◦ C, so the parameters of this experiment were set
BASLER ACA2500-14GC; a CMOS photosensitive chip); an60electronic balance (Ohaus In-
as shown
ternational Trade Shanghai Co., in Table
Ltd., 2. The fan
Shanghai, controller
China, 0.001 frequency
g); an was setbalance
electronic at 30 Hz, the speed was 1700
rpm, the wind speed was 1 m · s −1 , and the medium RH control threshold was set to 3%.
(Shanghai Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China, 0.001 g); DTS7178 three-phase four-wire electronic
At the
watt-hour meter (Shanghai end of Electric
Minrong drying, Co.,
the moisture contentChina);
Ltd., Shanghai, on theseveral
wet basis was 8%, that is, the moisture
dryers.
content [24,25] on the dry basis was 0.087 g·g−1 .

(A)
Figure 2. Cont.
11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 16
Foods 2022, 11, 1197 6 of 15

(B)

(C)
Figure 2. Flow chart of the2.control
Figure Flow procedure:
chart of the(A) control
control flow chart(A)
procedure: in the earlyflow
control drying stage;
chart (B)early drying stage;
in the
control flow chart in the middle drying stage; (C) control flow chart in the late drying stage.
(B) control flow chart in the middle drying stage; (C) control flow chart in the late drying stage.
Foods 2022, 11, 1197 7 of 15

Table 2. Experimental design and experimental parameters.

Experimental Drying
Process RH (%) Stage Time (h)
Number Temperature (◦ C)
1 20 To the end
Constant RH 60
2 40 To the end
40 150 min
Step-down RH 3 60
20 To the end
Automatic-down RH 4 60 - To the end

2.4. Calculation Method of Experiment Parameters

2.4.1. Calculation Method of the Moisture Ratio (MR) and the DR
The drying characteristic curve was the curve of the material moisture content chang-
ing with time in the process of hot air drying at a certain temperature, RH, and flow rate.
The calculation equation of the dry basis moisture content (Mt ) was as follows [18,26,27]:

Wt − Gd
Mt = , (1)
Gt

where Wt indicates the total mass of the material at the current time (g); Gd indicates the dry
matter mass of the material (g); Mt indicates the dry basis moisture content of the material
at the current time (g·g−1 ).
The calculation equation of the MR was as follows [18,26,27]:

Mt − Me
MR = , (2)
M0 − Me

where Me indicates the equilibrium dry basis moisture content of the material, (g·g−1 ); M0
indicates the initial dry basis moisture content of the material (g·g−1 ). Since the moisture
content of the balanced dry base was far less than that of the dry base of the material in
the drying process, its value can be ignored. The equation for calculating the MR can be
simplified as follows:
Mt
MR = . (3)
M0
The equation of the DR was as follows [18,26,27]:

Mt1 − Mt2
DR = , (4)
t2 − t1

where t1 and t2 indicate the drying time (h); DR indicates the drying rate between drying
times t1 and t2 (g·(g·h)−1 ).

2.4.2. Determination of the Color, RR, and Energy Consumption

The CIE L* a* b* color system can accurately expressed the actual color perceived by
human eyes and can distinguish lightness and color information quantitatively. An SMY-
2000SF color difference meter (Beijing Shengmingyang Science and Technology Develop-
ment Co., Ltd., Beijing, China) was used to determine the L* (brightness) and b* (yellow and
blue value) of white radish tablets after drying. The determination method was described
in the literature [28–30]. The dominant color of white radish slices was white. The larger L*
was and the smaller b* was, the whiter the white radish slices and the better the quality
of white radish slices [28–30]. The total color differences between fresh and dried white
radish slices (∆E) were calculated according to the following equation [31]:
q
∆E = ( a ∗0 − a ∗1 )2 + ( b ∗0 − b ∗1 )2 + ( L ∗0 − L ∗1 )2 , (5)
Foods 2022, 11, 1197 8 of 15

where a*0 is the degree of redness/greenness of fresh white radish slices, b*0 is the degree
of yellowness/blueness of fresh white radish slices, L*0 is the degree of lightness/darkness
of fresh white radish slices, and a*1 , b*1 , and L*1 are the color values of dried white
radish slices.
Dry products generally need to be rehydrated, before they can be eaten. The degree
to which dry products recover to the original fresh state after rehydration is an important
index to measure the quality of dry products, which is usually measured by the rehydration
ratio (RR). The dried radish (8.15 ± 0.61 g) for each RH control method was immersed into
distilled water at 40 ◦ C for 60 min and then placed on an absorbent paper for 20 min [28–30].
The drained samples after rehydration were weighed, and the RR was calculated by
Equation (6):
Gf
RR = , (6)
Gg
where Gf indicates the weight of radish after rehydration by draining the water (g); Gg
indicates the dried radish weight (g).
The measurement of energy consumption was calculated by the following
equation [32,33]:
1000W
Q= , (7)
m i × ( ϕ0 − ϕ i )
where Q indicates the unit energy consumption of this experiment (kW·h·kg−1 ); W indicates
the difference between the watt-hour meter readings before and after this experiment
(kW·h); mi indicates the difference between the watt-hour meter readings before and after
the experiment (g); ϕi indicates the moisture content of the wet base at the end of the
material (%); ϕ0 indicates the initial wet base moisture content of the material (%).

2.4.3. Determination of the Total Sugar Content

As described by Macedo et al. [34], the phenol-sulfuric acid method was used to
determine the total sugar content in dried white radish slices. The results of each group were
repeated 6 times, and the freeze-dried group was used as the control for significance analysis.

2.4.4. Comprehensive Evaluation Method

In order to unify the data, it was necessary to normalize the evaluation index. The
normalization equations of positive indicators (RR, total sugar content, and L*) and negative
indicators (drying time t, energy consumption Q, and b*) were as follows [35]:

xi − xmin
yi = , (8)
xmax − xmin
xmax − xi
yi = , (9)
xmax − xmin
where yi indicates the normalized value; xi indicates the actual value of the index; xmax and
xmin indicate the maximum and minimum values of the index, respectively. The comprehen-
sive score of drying conditions was obtained by weighting according to Equation (10) [35]:

Y = y 1 l1 + y 2 l2 + y 3 l3 + y 4 l4 + y 5 l5 + y 6 l6 , (10)

where y1 , y2 , y3 , y4 , y5 , and y6 indicate the normalized results of the RR, brightness, drying
time, energy consumption, and yellow-blue value, respectively, and l1 , l2 , l3 , l4 , l5 , and l6
are their respective weights. To guarantee the condition of a good RR, total sugar content,
and L*, the energy consumption (Q) and drying time (t) were reduced at the same time.
Using the analytic level method [35], the weights of the RR, total sugar content, L*, drying
time (t), energy consumption (Q), and yellow–blue value b* were 0.2, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1, 0.1, and
0.1, respectively.
Foods 2022, 11, 1197 9 of 15

2.5. Statistical Analyses

The data were analyzed using the statistical software Matlab2017a. Significance was
defined at p ≤ 0.05 by the least significant difference (LSD) multiple comparison test. Each
experiment was repeated three times.

3. Results and Analysis

3.1. Effect of the Constant RH and the Step-Down RH on Hot-Air-Drying Characteristics of White
Radish Slices
The hot-air drying characteristics and DR curves of radish slices under different
constant RH values and step-down RH values are shown in Figure 3. At a constant
drying temperature of 60 ◦ C, the drying times of continuous dehumidification, the constant
RH of 20%, the constant RH of 40%, and the step-down RH were 8.9, 12.0, and 10.17 h,
respectively. Under the constant RH control, the drying time decreased with the decrease
of RH. According to Fick’s law and its boundary conditions, the lower the environmental
RH was, the greater the water vapor pressure difference between the material and the
environment was and the higher the DR was. Therefore, reducing RH was conducive to
shortening the drying time and improving the drying efficiency [21].
For the step-down RH process, that is, the DR was significantly increased when RH
was kept at 40% (150 min) in the initial drying period and then decreased to 20% (Figure 3B),
and the drying time was between 20% RH and 40% RH. Figure 3C shows that the higher the
RH was in the early drying stage, the faster the material central temperature rose. According
to he moisture enthalpy diagram of air, when the dry bulb temperature was fixed, the
higher the RH was, the higher the wet bulb temperature was and the higher the enthalpy
value was [36]. According to Fourier’s law of thermal conductivity, the higher the enthalpy
of the drying medium was, the faster the material heated up. Therefore, the material center
temperature of early material rose fastest and reached the highest temperature at 40% RH
(about 45.2 ◦ C). After the end of preheating, part of the heat was used to evaporate water,
part was used to heat the material, and the final material temperature and environmental
temperature tended to balance. In the early stage of the step-down RH drying process, the
material center temperature was relatively high. After 150 min, the temperature dropped
rapidly from 43 ◦ C to 37.5 ◦ C. This was due to the decrease of ambient RH, the increase of
water vapor pressure, and the rapid evaporation of moisture on the surface of the material
heat absorption, leading to a sudden drop in the material central temperature. This was
also consistent with the law that the DR increased rapidly at the RH jump point (Figure 3B).
The variation trend of the temperature curves under different RH was consistent with the
research results of Li et al. [37] and Barati et al. [13].
Under the different constant RH and step-down RH control conditions, the vari-
ation rules of RH in the dry medium were different. The RH of the drying medium
decreased rapidly with the drying process under the continuous dehumidification condi-
tion (Figure 3D). The RH of the drying medium showed a trend of a rapid increase and a
gradual decrease, reaching its maximum value at the node of 30 min (about 43%) under the
constant RH of 40%. The RH of the drying medium was controlled by the evaporation rate
of the material at a constant drying temperature of 60 ◦ C. As the DR decreased gradually,
the RH in the drying chamber could not be maintained at 40% and decreased slowly until
it was close to the moisture content of the ambient air. A similar trend was observed at the
constant RH of 20%.
In the step-down RH control process, the RH of the drying medium fluctuated within
the threshold range of the control value in the early stage of drying. When the RH control
value dropped from 40% to 20%, the RH of the drying medium directly dropped from 43%
to 16%, which also confirmed the rapid increase of the DR at this time node (Figure 3B).
The RH of the drying medium began to decrease slowly, until it was close to the moisture
content of ambient air for a drying time of 6 h. Compared with that at the constant RH of
20%, the drying time of the last active dehumidification point was extended by 1 h. The
RH of the drying medium had a significant influence on the material temperature rise and
 temperature at 40% RH (about 45.2 °C). After the end of preheating, part of the heat was
used to evaporate water, part was used to heat the material, and the final material tem-
perature and environmental temperature tended to balance. In the early stage of the step-
down RH drying process, the material center temperature was relatively high. After 150
min, the temperature dropped rapidly from 43 °C to 37.5 °C. This was due to the decrease
Foods 2022, 11, 1197 10 of 15
of ambient RH, the increase of water vapor pressure, and the rapid evaporation of mois-
ture on the surface of the material heat absorption, leading to a sudden drop in the mate-
rial central temperature. This was also consistent with the law that the DR increased rap-
the DR.
idly ByRH
at the analyzing the effect
jump point (Figureof3B).
the The
step-down humidity
variation trend ofcontrol on the material-drying
the temperature curves under
characteristics, it was shown that a reasonable monitoring drying medium RH was
different RH was consistent with the research results of Li et al. [37] and Barati of great
et al. [13].
significance to shorten the drying time.

1.1 6.0
T: 60 °C; RH: Continuous dehumidification – end
1.0 T: 60 °C; RH: Constant relative humidity 20% - end
5.5
T: 60 °C; RH: Constant relative humidity 40% - end
0.9 5.0
T: 60 °C; RH: Step down relative humidity 40% (150 min) – 20% - end

Drying rate(g H2O·(g d.b.·h)-1

0.8 4.5
4.0
0.7
Moisture ratio

3.5
0.6
3.0
0.5
2.5
0.4
2.0
0.3
1.5
T: 60 °C; RH: Continuous dehumidification – end
0.2 1.0 T: 60 °C; RH: Constant relative humidity 20% - end
T: 60 °C; RH: Constant relative humidity 40% - end
0.1 0.5 T: 60 °C; RH: Step down relative humidity 40% (150 min) – 20% - end

0.0 0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Drying time(h) Moisture content on dry basis(g·g-1)

(A) (B)

60 55
T: 60 °C; RH: Continuous dehumidification – end
55 50 T: 60 °C; RH: Constant relative humidity 20% - end

Drying medium relative humidity(%)

T: 60 °C; RH: Constant relative humidity 40% - end
Material center temperature(°C)

T: 60 °C; RH: Step down relative humidity 40% (150 min) – 20% - end
45
50
40
45
35
40
30
35
25
30 T: 60 °C; RH: Continuous dehumidification – end 20
T: 60 °C; RH: Constant relative humidity 20% - end
T: 60 °C; RH: Constant relative humidity 40% - end
25 15
T: 60 °C; RH: Step down relative humidity 40% (150 min) – 20% - end

20 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Drying time(h) Drying time(h)

(C) (D)
Figure 3. Drying
Figure 3. Drying characteristic
characteristic (A),
(A), drying
drying rate
rate (B),
(B), material
material central
central temperature
temperature (C), and drying
(C), and drying
medium
medium RH value (D) of white radish as a function of time under constant RH and step-down RH
RH value (D) of white radish as a function of time under constant RH and step-down RH
conditions.
conditions. Note:
Note: velocity
velocity at
at 1.0 m·s−.1 .
1.0 m·s
−1

Under
3.2. Effect of the different constantRH
the Automatic-Down RHonand
the step-down RH control
Hot-Air-Drying conditions,
Characteristics the variation
of White
Radish
rules ofSlices
RH in the dry medium were different. The RH of the drying medium decreased
rapidly
Thewith the drying
MR showed process under
an exponential the continuous
decline dehumidification
with the extension of the dryingcondition (Figure
time (Figure 4A).
The DR in the early drying stage was small, and there were two obvious fluctuations. This
was due to the high RH of the medium in the early stage of drying, the small difference
of water vapor partial pressure between the material surface and the environment, and
the slow water evaporation. When the medium RH changed, the moisture evaporation
increased rapidly, resulting in a significant increase in the DR (Figure 4B). Due to the high
RH of the medium and the high enthalpy value [21,33], the material center temperature
rose rapidly, and the temperature reached the high value (about 41.8 ◦ C) at the time node
of 1 h. Part of the heat transferred by the medium was used for the material temperature
rising, the other part was used for moisture evaporation, and a small part of heat was lost.
This also explained that the material temperature always fluctuated around 40 ◦ C before
the time node was 5 h, the moisture evaporation of the material decreased in the later stage
of drying, and the temperature of the material center rose rapidly (Figure 4C). As shown in
Figure 4D, the drying process consisted of three dehumidification processes lasting 180 min,
90 min, and 60 min, respectively. In the early stage of drying, the medium RH rapidly
 Foods 2022, 11, 1197 11 of 15

increased to the high value (about 42.9%) at the time node of 20 min. The system controlled
the medium RH value at about 40%. The high RH environment slowed down the moisture
removal rate but promoted the rapid rise of the material center temperature. The system
judged that the medium humidity could not be maintained at 40% and dropped to 30% at
the time node of 3 h. Similarly, the system determined that the medium RH could not be
maintained at 30% and dropped to 20% at the time node of 4.5 h. The system was adjusted
for continuous moisture removal, and the final RH was maintained at about 15% at the
time node of 5.8 h. The drying time was greatly shortened, and the drying efficiency was
improved by using the automatic RH control drying method.

3.3. Comparison of the Color, RR, Total Sugar Content, and Energy Consumption
The determination results of the total sugar content, RR, brightness L*, drying time t,
energy consumption Q, and yellow–blue value b* under different drying conditions are
shown in Table 3, and the physical comparison is shown in Figure 5. The results showed
that L* and b* values of the automatic RH control process conditions were 26.0 and 1.67,
respectively, which were better than the conditions of the step-down RH, constant 20%
RH, and constant 40% RH. There were also significant differences in the color difference
values of dry products under different drying conditions, and the color difference value
of the automatic humidity control group was the smallest, which was 3.61. It may be that
Foods 2022, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW the drying time was short, which was conducive to the preservation of the color 12 of of 16
white
radish slices. Under the constant 40% RH condition, browning was easy to occur due to the
activity of water and enzyme and oxidation.

1.0 4.0

0.9 3.5
T: 60 °C; RH: Automatic down relative humidity
0.8
Drying rate(g H2O·(g d.b.·h)-1

3.0
0.7
2.5
Moisture ratio

0.6

0.5 2.0

0.4
1.5
0.3 T: 60 °C; RH: Automatic down relative humidity
1.0
0.2
0.5
0.1

0.0 0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0
Drying time(h) Moisture content on dry basis(g·g-1)

(A) (B)

55 45
Drying medium relative humidity(%)

50 40
T: 60 °C; RH: Automatic down relative humidity
Material center temperature(°C)

45 35

40 30

35 25

30 20

25 15
T: 60 °C; RH: Automatic down relative humidity

20 10
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

Drying time(h) Drying time(h)

(C) (D)
Figure
Figure4.4.Drying
Dryingcharacteristic
characteristic (A),
(A),drying
dryingrate
rate(B),
(B),material
materialcentral
centraltemperature
temperature(C),
(C),and
anddrying
drying
medium
medium RH value (D) of white radish as a function of the drying time under automatic-downRH
RH value (D) of white radish as a function of the drying time under automatic-down RH
conditions.
conditions.Note:
Note:velocity atat
velocity 1.01.0 m·s.−1 .
m·s −1

3.3. Comparison of the Color, RR, Total Sugar Content, and Energy Consumption
The determination results of the total sugar content, RR, brightness L*, drying time t,
energy consumption Q, and yellow–blue value b* under different drying conditions are
 Foods 2022, 11, 1197 12 of 15

Table 3. Color values, rehydration ratios, energy consumptions, drying times, total sugar contents,
and comprehensive scores under different drying conditions.
Foods 2022, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 13 of 16

b*
L* Rehydration Drying Total Sugar Comprehensive
No Yellow–Blue ∆E Energy
White Black Ratio (g·g−1 ) Time (h) Content (%) Score
Value
energy consumption of the step-down RH controlled process was between the constant
Fresh 21.1 ± 0.03 c –0.19 ± 0.05 e - - - - 45.01 ± 0.03 a -
1 16.19 ± 0.07 e
20% RH and
3.08 ± 0.06 b
the constant3.86
7.32 ± 0.03 b
40% RH, which
± 0.04 a 0.97
was 0.95. The lowest37.29
9 ± 0.05 d
energy consumption
± 0.01 b
under
0.58 c
2 19.28 ± 0.02 d 3.75 ±the
0.04condition
a 15.24of the aautomatic
± 0.02 RHa control
3.89 ± 0.02 1 was 0.90, which
12 ± 0.02 a was 7.21%,
25.54 ± 0.0210.00%,
e and
0.49 5.26%
d

3 25.1 ± 0.01 b 0.03 c than4.17

2.83 ±lower those ofc the constant
± 0.01 a
3.88 ± 0.03 20% RH,
0.95 constant 0.10 b RH,31.17
10.17 ±40% 0.03 d
and±step-down RH b
control
0.73
4 26.0 ± 0.02 a 1.67 ±process
0.01 d d
3.61 ± 0.07 respectively. b ± c ± c
3.96 ± 0.01 Therefore, the reasonable control of the medium RH
0.90 9.17 0.24 35.89 0.01 0.85 a
conditions, in
Note: Different a–e
letterswasindicate the significant differences
the drying process conducive to shortening the(pdrying
< 0.05) of different
time and drying methods;
reducing energythe con-
energy
consumption under the constant 40% RH drying condition was 7.13 kW·h·kg−1 .
sumption.
The total sugar content is one of the important nutrients in dried radish products,
whichThe RR ofaffects
directly dry products
the tastetoanda certain
flavor ofextent reflectedDifferent
consumers. the structure
drying ofconditions
materials in the
had
significant (p < 0.05) effects on the total sugar content of dried white radish slices, and thein
drying process and the degree of cell damage [38]. There was no significant difference
the RRs under different conditions of the constant RH, step-down RH, and automatic RH
total sugar content of dried products in the fresh group was the highest (45.01%). The total
control, but the maximum RR was 3.96 under the condition of the automatic RH control. It
sugar content of dried products under the drying condition of the constant humidity of
showed that the drying intensity of the automatic RH control program was mild and the
40% was significantly lower than under other drying conditions, which was 25.54%. The
material structure deformation was small.
total sugar content of white radish slices dried by continuous dehumidification and auto-
In order to compare the energy consumption of each process condition more clearly
matic RH control was high. It indicated that the short drying time was conducive to the
and intuitively, it was assumed that the energy consumption at the constant RH of 40% was
retention of more total sugar content in dried products and the long drying time led to the
1 and the energy consumption under other drying conditions was the ratio. The energy
accumulation of heat in the material, which promoted the degradation of polysaccharides
consumption of the step-down RH controlled process was between the constant 20% RH
[39,40].
and the constant 40% RH, which was 0.95. The lowest energy consumption under the
condition of the automatic RH control was 0.90, which was 7.21%, 10.00%, and 5.26% lower
Table 3. Color values, rehydration ratios, energy consumptions, drying times, total sugar contents,
than those of the constant 20% RH, constant 40% RH, and step-down RH control process
and comprehensive scores under different drying conditions.
conditions, respectively. Therefore, the reasonable control of the medium RH in the drying
b* process was conducive to shortening the drying time and reducing energy consumption.
L* Rehydration Ratio Drying Time Total Sugar Comprehen-
No Yellow– The
ΔEtotal sugar content is one of the important nutrients in dried radish products,
Energy
White Black (g·g−1) (h) Content (%) sive Score
Blue Value which directly affects the taste and flavor of consumers. Different drying conditions had sig-
Fresh 21.1 ± 0.03 c –0.19 ± 0.05nificant
e (p
- < 0.05) effects on - the total sugar - content of-dried white 45.01radish
± 0.03 slices,
a and- the total
1 16.19 ± 0.07 e 3.08 ± 0.06sugar
b 7.32content
± 0.03 bof dried products
3.86 ± 0.04 a in the fresh
0.97 group 9 ±was
0.05the
d highest
37.29 ±(45.01%).
0.01 b The0.58 total
c sugar
content
2 19.28 ± 0.02 3.75 ± 0.04 15.24 ± 0.02
d a of drieda products under
3.89 ± 0.02 a the drying
1 condition of
12 ± 0.02 the
a constant
25.54 ± 0.02humidity
e of
0.49 40%
d was
significantly lower than under other drying conditions, which was 25.54%. The total sugar
3 25.1 ± 0.01 b 2.83 ± 0.03 c 4.17 ± 0.01 c 3.88 ± 0.03 a 0.95 10.17 ± 0.10 b 31.17 ± 0.03 d 0.73 b
content of white radish slices bdried by continuous dehumidification and automatic RH
4 26.0 ± 0.02 1.67 ± 0.01 3.61 ± 0.07
a d d 3.96 ± 0.01 0.90 9.17 ± 0.24 35.89 ± 0.01
c c 0.85 a
control was high. Ita–eindicated that the short drying time was conducive to the retention of
Note: Different letters indicate the significant differences (p < 0.05) of different drying methods;
more total sugar content in dried products and the long drying time led to the accumulation
the energy consumption under the constant 40% RH drying condition was 7.13 kW·h·kg−1.
of heat in the material, which promoted the degradation of polysaccharides [39,40].

(A) (B)

Figure 5. Cont.
Foods 2022,
Foods 11,11,
2022, x FOR
1197PEER REVIEW 14 of
13 16
of 15

(C) (D)

(E)
Figure
Figure5. Overall
5. Overall appearances of of
appearances white radish
white radishslices under
slices different
under drying
different conditions:
drying conditions:(A)(A)
control;
control;
(B)(B)
temperature of 60 °C◦and constant RH of 20% to the end; (C) temperature of 60 °C ◦
temperature of 60 C and constant RH of 20% to the end; (C) temperature of 60 C and constantand constant
RHRH of of
40%40% totothe
theend;
end;(D)
(D)temperature
temperature of
of 60
60 ◦°C and step-down
C and step-downRH RHvalues
valuesofof40%
40% (150
(150 min)
min) andand
then
then 20% to the end; (E) temperature of 60 ◦ °C and automatic-down RH.
20% to the end; (E) temperature of 60 C and automatic-down RH.

3.4. Comprehensive
3.4. Comprehensive Evaluation
Evaluation of of
Different
Different Drying
Drying Methods
Methods
Table
Table3 indicates
3 indicates that
thatthethehighest
highest comprehensive
comprehensive score
scorewaswas0.85
0.85under
under thethecondition
condition
of of
thethe
automatic
automatic RH RHcontrol
control process
process at at
6060°C.◦ C.
In Inthethe
early
earlystage
stageof of
drying,
drying, maintaining
maintaining a a
high
high RHRH in in
thethe“wetting
“wetting section”
section” mademade thethe
material
material rapidly
rapidly heat
heatup.up.When
When thethe
material
material
temperature
temperature reached
reached thethewet-bulb
wet-bulb temperature
temperature andandbecame
became stable, thethe
stable, “wetting
“wetting section”
section”
increased
increased thethe
water
watervapor
vapor pressure
pressure difference
difference between
between thethematerial
materialand andthetheenvironment
environment
andand increasedthe
increased theDR.
DR.TheThe“low
“lowwetting
wettingsection”
section” further
further promoted the the removal
removalof ofmoisture
mois-
inside
ture insidethethematerial.
material.It could
It could reduce
reduce thethe
energy
energy consumption,
consumption, shorten
shorten thethedrying
drying time
timeand
andobtain
obtain better
better product
product quality
quality byby adjusting
adjusting the theRH RHinin
thethedrying
drying process
process reasonably.
reasonably. For
Forexample,
example, thethe∆EΔEof of
dry dryproducts
products in in
thethe
automatic
automatic humidity
humidity control group
control waswas
group significantly
signif-
(p < 0.05)
icantly lowerlower
(p < 0.05) than than
thosethose
of theofother groups,
the other while
groups, the ∆E
while the at
ΔEthe at 40%
the 40%highhighhumidity
hu-
midity maintained for a period of time was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than thosethe
maintained for a period of time was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those of other
of the
groups.
other In addition,
groups. In addition,the automatic
the automatic humidity
humidity control group
control had had
group the highest
the highestscore,score,
which
was significantly
which was significantly(p < 0.05)
(p < higher than the
0.05) higher thanother
the experimental groups.groups.
other experimental This studyThisprovides
study
theoretical
provides guidanceguidance
theoretical for the realization of high-efficiency,
for the realization energy-saving
of high-efficiency, and quality-drying
energy-saving and
of intelligent industrial-grade hot-air-drying equipment.
quality-drying of intelligent industrial-grade hot-air-drying equipment.
4. Conclusions
4. Conclusions
In this study, white radish slices were dried by hot air with different medium RH
In this study, white radish slices were dried by hot air with different medium RH
control strategies. The main conclusions were as follows:
control strategies. The main conclusions were as follows:
(1)
(1) The The step-downRH
step-down RHprocess
processwas
was conducive
conducive to
to the
thematerial
materialtemperature rise
temperature in the
rise early
in the
stage
early of drying
stage process.
of drying When
process. Whenthethe
material central
material temperature
central temperaturewas
wasincreased
increasedand
then the RH was reduced, the DR was increased and the drying time was
and then the RH was reduced, the DR was increased and the drying time was short-shortened.
ened.
Foods 2022, 11, 1197 14 of 15

(2) The drying time was greatly shortened, and the drying efficiency was improved by
using the automatic RH control drying method. The drying process includes three
dehumidification processes. The respective RH control values were 40%, 30%, and
20%, and the respective durations were 180 min, 90 min, and 60 min. The drying time
using automatic RH control was 1 h shorter than that of the step-down RH.
(3) Comprehensive evaluation of RR, brightness L*, drying time t, energy consumption
Q, and yellow–blue value b* showed that the L* and b* values of the automatic RH
control process conditions were 26.0 and 1.67, respectively, which were better than
the conditions of the step-down RH, constant 20% RH, and constant 40% RH. There
was no significant difference in the RRs under different conditions of the constant RH,
step-down RH, and automatic RH control, but the maximum value of the RR was 3.96
under the automatic RH control condition. The lowest energy consumption under the
condition of automatic RH control was 0.90.

Author Contributions: D.J., conceptualization, methodology, and writing of the original draft; C.L.,
methodology, funding acquisition, writing of the original draft; Z.Z., conceptualization, management,
and writing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This work was supported in part by the Hebei Province Key Research and Development
Project (grant numbers: 203777119D and 19227210D), in part by the Scientific Research Projects of 413
Universities in Hebei Province (grant No. ZD2021056).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: All the results showed in the manuscript could be requested to the
corresponding author who would provide them.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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